TRUMP SUPPORTERS & ME

It’s hard to shrug off political differences and remain good friends with those whom with you disagree.

I assume. Me, I wouldn’t know. Because as much as I despise Donald Trump – his actions, words, ignorance, bigotry, dishonesty, misogyny, all his values (or lack thereof) – I get it. He’s a not-too-bright, selfish, greedy bully who is entirely driven by his own infantile ego. When you squeeze an orange you get orange juice; when you squeeze Donald, Donald comes out. Always has, always will. All his Trumpery makes total sense.

UNDERSTANDING TRUMP SUPPORTERS

What does NOT make sense are people who chose to make this illiterate, bombastic douche the Leader of the Free World. Whenever I’ve tried to understand this insane decision and talk to Trump supporters, they always start their answers with a “What about…? Their “What abouts…?” typically deal with something about President Obama, one or both of the Clintons. Leave aside the iffy factual basis of the claims that follow. Whether you like them or not, leave aside these low-hanging nemeses’ demonstrable track records of decades of public service. Trump supporters, what I want is a straight answer to why you thought it was a good idea to elect someone who:

Had never spent a single hour of seven decades in public service.

Makes fun of handicapped people. In public. For laughs.

Makes things up to support his ego (crowd sizes) or his bigoted points of view (crowds of Muslims cheering in New Jersey after 9/11). These stories are not only untrue, they are pathetically easily disproven. In other words, not only do you support an inveterate lair, you embrace a really, really BAD liar.

Was a well-known horrible businessman. (He went bankrupt multiple times, was infamous for cheating people and not paying bills, lost millions, and would have been much richer had he taken the money his daddy left him and just put it in a money market account and left it alone. Really.)

Cheated on multiple wives, blithely made rude, vulgar and insulting comments about women in public and private.

With never a shred of evidence, not only continually insisted our President was not born in the United States, constantly claimed to have evidence. You know, lying. (And oh yeah, this President happened to be black.)

Called for the execution of innocent, wrongly incarcerated teen boys who’d been completely cleared of the infamous Central Park rape. (And oh yeah, those boys happened to be black.)

Refuses to make available his tax returns like every other Presidential candidate does (and lies about it being because of an audit).

Calls not singing the national Anthem horribly unpatriotic and disgusting, but has no problem calling war hero John McCain “a loser” for being captured. (Donald is a “winner” because he got a doctor write a note so he could dodge the draft.)

Admires Vladimir Putin – journalist-killing, American-election-hacking, violent and corrupt dictator Vladimir Putin. Insists there’s a plank in the Republican Party platform that goes easy on Russian sanctions. Called for Russia, on TV, to hack into Secretary of State Clinton’s email. Routinely lies about dealings with Russia. #secrets #treason

Defends Neo-Nazis, and sees no moral differentiation between White Supremacists and those who oppose them. Is somehow able to see ‘both sides, both sides” of the Nazi-anti-Nazi argument, but thinks football players should be fired for silent, respectful protests of police brutality. (And oh yeah, those football players happened to be black.)

Stole money from thousands with his bogus Trump University. #fraud

Blithely boasts about sexually assaulting women. Shows no remorse whatsoever about sexually assaulting women. Slanders, threatens and further victimizes women he has sexually assaulted. Oh, and said on TV that women who get abortions should be punished. #pussygrabber #sexist

Called Mexicans rapists, targeted Muslims, thinks African-Americans all live in dystopian inner cities…and was indicted for trying to keep African –Americans out of his buildings. Said a Latino judge couldn’t be fair. #racist

Uses Anti-Semitic dog whistles in tweets and debates #JonLeibowitz

And Trump supporters, now that he’s President, he continues to do all that. You can add to the list his firing James Comey; giving away vast swaths of American land to mining interests ; decimating the EPA and State department; keeping money targeted for charity for himself, using taxpayer and supporters’ dollars for his own travel, lifestyle and legal defense; trying to deprive millions of health care so the super rich can keep even more of their money, and threatening his mirror image over there in North Korea. Every day – and I do mean every f—g day – he says something that newscasters call misleading but those of us who speak English call “lies”. Blatant lies. Lies that are either self-serving, obfuscating, slanderous, or meant to deepen or ignite the fear and bigotry of his base.

IGNORING ISSUES

Trump supporters, you want me to be nonchalant about all the lies, boasts and bungling. You actually think I should ignore the unconstitutional rhetoric? The treasonous treachery with Russia? You think I should just suck it up – ignore all that dramatically-hastening-the-end-of-the-world shiz. Well, I can’t – and I can’t ignore YOU.

Look, Donald Trump only exists because of the ignorance or bigotry of those who either unabashedly support him or choose to look the other way. Growing up in a Jewish household, as a little girl I learned how deadly dangerous it can be to let bigoted leaders ignore law, spew lies, and stir up racial hatred. Hitler was seen as a buffoon in the 1930s…until he wasn’t.

Look, Donald Trump only exists because of the ignorance or bigotry of those who either unabashedly support him or choose to look the other way.

That’s why I’m not laughing at Sean Spicer on the Emmys, parodying his ridiculous lies at our President’s behest. I don’t just roll my eyes when he denigrates the First Amendment under the guise of patriotism. And that’s why I take seriously, very seriously, the people who support him.

Trump’s words and actions have made crystal clear who he is. He is the orange that always produces orange juice. And now, Trump supporters, your support of this man’s words and actions – and the values (or lack thereof) that they reflect – show me who YOU are. And it’s not pretty. It’s not smart, it’s not kind, it’s not rational. And it’s not American…anyway, not the America I’ve always loved.

No, Trump isn’t responsible for us pulling out if the Paris Agreement, heightened post-election displays of bigotry, or the United States being the laughing stock of the Free World. No, Trump supporters put him there. Hitler didn’t execute his Final Solution all by his lonesome; a nation let it happen. And all Trumps’ lies and misdeeds are buttressed by the ignorance, anti-intellectualism and archaic bigotry of his supporters and allies.

THE REAL ISSUE

The consequence of Trump’s presidency isn’t just higher ratings for Saturday Night Live. Putting Trump in the White House has meant endangering people, endangering the planet, and endangering the ideals upon which our nation was built. Our country’s ethical compass is suffering. Our land, water, and air are suffering. Millions of people are or will be suffering.

Still, my patriotism is bloody but unbowed. But don’t ask me to make nice and talk about “Game of Thrones” with Trump supporters. No, I won’t shrug off politics. The political IS personal. At stake are values, decency and the very survival of the planet. Pardon me if I take that “too seriously.”

Trump supporters: The Presidency you wanted has consequences. One of them is that you’ve lost my respect, you’ve earned my disdain. Deal with it. Live with the consequences of your actions…just as I’ve had to.

Putting Trump in the White House has meant endangering people, endangering the planet, and endangering the ideals upon which our nation was built.

DAMETOWN.COM
I'm Dixie Laite -- a writer, speaker, and branding consultant in New York City. For over 40 years I've been a bullshit-slaying, classic movies-obsessing, animal-loving dame. For over 40 years I have been working on figuring out how to be a woman. Some of it I nailed, a lot of it I'm still trying to get a handle on. Let's figure this shit out together!